Armor
The man's armor, dating from about 1575, is part of a small garniture that included exchange elements for the battlefield and reinforcing pieces for the tournament. The breastplate is a restoration.
The associated horse armor also in the Metropolitan Museum's collection (acc. no. 21.139.2), dating from about 1560, is one of the few complete examples of its period to be preserved. It comes from the armory of the counts Collalto at the castle of San Salvatore, near Treviso, where it was presumably kept from the late sixteenth until the early twentieth century. The bands of etched ornament include classically inspired trophies of arms and armor and musical instruments. These were standard decorative motifs on Italian armor of the period, but here, they are depicted with much more precision, on a larger scale, and in far greater detail and variety than usual. The high quality of the horse armor and its elaborate decoration indicate that it must have belonged to a leading member of the Collalto family, perhaps Collatino Collalto (1523–1569), who was famous both as a soldier and as a man of letters.
The associated horse armor also in the Metropolitan Museum's collection (acc. no. 21.139.2), dating from about 1560, is one of the few complete examples of its period to be preserved. It comes from the armory of the counts Collalto at the castle of San Salvatore, near Treviso, where it was presumably kept from the late sixteenth until the early twentieth century. The bands of etched ornament include classically inspired trophies of arms and armor and musical instruments. These were standard decorative motifs on Italian armor of the period, but here, they are depicted with much more precision, on a larger scale, and in far greater detail and variety than usual. The high quality of the horse armor and its elaborate decoration indicate that it must have belonged to a leading member of the Collalto family, perhaps Collatino Collalto (1523–1569), who was famous both as a soldier and as a man of letters.
Artwork Details
- Title: Armor
- Date: ca. 1575; breastplate, later; lancerest and gilt decoration, probably 18th–19th century
- Geography: probably Milan
- Culture: Italian, probably Milan
- Medium: Steel, gold, leather, copper alloy, textile
- Dimensions: Overall Wt. approx. 47 lb. 5 oz. (21.5 kg); helmet (a): H. 14 3/4 in. (37.5 cm); W. 9 1/16 in. (23 cm); D. 12 13/16 in. (32.5 cm); Wt. 8 lb. 2.15 oz. (3689 g); additional helmet (b): H. 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm); W. 7 7/8 in. (20 cm); D. 11 1/4 in. (28.6 cm); Wt. 4 lb. 8.3 oz. (2049.7 g); gorget (c): H. 5 15/16 (15.1 cm); W. 12 1/16 in. (30.6 cm); D. 9 7/8 in. (25.1 cm); Wt. 2 lb. 2.45 oz. (977 g); breastplate with lance rest and tace lame (d, e): H. 19 3/16 in. (48.7 cm); W. 14 3/4 in. (37.5 cm); D. 7 13/16 in. (19.8 cm); Wt. 6 lb. 4.8 oz. (2857 g); right tasset (f): H. 11 13/16 in. (30 cm); W. 11 5/8 in. (29.5 cm); D. 4 1/8 in. (10.5 cm); Wt. 1 lb. 13.15 oz. (826 g); left tasset (g): H. 11 5/8 in. (29.5 cm); W. 12 3/8 in. (31.4 cm); D. 3 11/16 in. (9.4 cm); Wt. 2 lb. 4.65 oz. (1040 g); backplate (h): H. 14 15/16 in. (37.9 cm); W. 14 7/8 in. (37.8 cm); D. 6 7/16 in. (16.4 cm); Wt. 5 lb. 15.95 oz. (2720 g); right pauldron (i): H. 8 3/4 in. (22.2 cm); W. 11 3/8 in. (28.9 cm); D. 11 3/8 in. (28.9 cm); Wt. 2 lb. 7 oz. (1106 g); left pauldron (j): H. 8 1/4 in. (21 cm); W. 12 5/16 in. (31.3 cm); D. 11 5/8 in. (29.5 cm); Wt. 2 lb. 12.4 oz. (1259 g); right arm defense (k): H. 17 9/16 in. (44.6 cm); W. 7 1/16 in. (17.9 cm); D. 5 1/16 in. (12.9 cm); Wt. 2 lb. 6.6 oz. (1094 g); left arm defense (l): H. 17 7/16 in. (44.3 cm); W. 7 1/4 in. (18.4 cm); D. 5 1/16 in. (12.9 cm); Wt. 2 lb. 6 oz. (1077 g); right gauntlet (m): H. 12 3/8 in. (31.4 cm); W. 5 3/8 in. (13.7 cm); D. 5 1/8 in. (13 cm); Wt. 1 lb. 2.45 oz. (522 g); left gauntlet (n): H. 12 5/8 in. (32.1 cm); W. 5 1/2 in. (14 cm); D. 5 9/16 in. (14.1 cm); Wt. 1 lb. 4.15 oz. (571 g); right cuisse (thigh defense) and knee cop (o): H. 16 7/16 (41.8 cm); W. 7 11/16 in. (19.5 cm); D. 5 1/2 in. (14 cm); Wt. 2 lb. 3.7 oz. (1012 g); left cuisse (thigh defense) and knee cop (p): H. 16 3/16 in. (41.1 cm); W. 8 7/16 in. (21.4 cm); D. 5 7/8 in. (14.9 cm); Wt. 2 lb. 7.7 oz. (1126 g); right greave (lower leg defense) (q): H. 15 1/16 in. (38.3 cm); W. 4 5/8 in. (11.7 cm); D. 5 5/8 in. (14.3 cm); Wt. 1 lb. 14.1 oz. (854 g); left greave (lower leg defense) (r): H. 14 9/16 in. (37 cm); W. 4 3/4 in. (12.1 cm); D. 5 1/8 in. (13 cm); Wt. 2 lb. 3.7 oz. (1012 g)
- Classification: Armor for Man
- Credit Line: Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913
- Object Number: 14.25.717a–r
- Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor
More Artwork
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Italian, probably Milan
man's armor, ca. 1575 and later; horse armor, ca. 1560 and later
Italian, probably Milan
ca. 1570–80
Italian, Milan
ca. 1510
Italian, Milan or Brescia
ca. 1544
LIONARDO
ca. 1440
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